Copyright€¦ · Ms. Lopez bookmarked and several digital articles and videos about effec -tive...

7

There are a number of ways that stu-dents can tell their life stories. In Sandra Lopez’s eleventh-grade English class, students have been reading, writing, and investigating the topic for two weeks. On this morning, she will be conducting a close reading of the poem “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. After the close reading lesson, five students will join her for guided instruction, using the poem to focus on the author’s craft. The teacher identified these students as being in need of additional instruction through a preassessment of their ability to write using various tools such as per-sonification, point of view, and rhythm.

Other students will use the materials in the classroom, including webpages Ms. Lopez bookmarked and several digital articles and videos about effec-tive personal narrative writing that she has loaded into the learning man-agement system. One collaborative group is using an excerpt from The Story of My Experiments With Truth: An Autobiography, by Mohandas Gandhi, to develop interview questions for a local author they will be meeting in a dig-ital space the following week. The guest speaker, a blogger who often shares stories from his life, will answer questions about his writing processes and how he selects stories to share. During this unit, students will also read a chapter from Beatrice Nezat’s How to Write a Memoir: The Essential Guide to Writing Your Life Story as a Personal Memoir about accessing memories and then have time to write about a difficult time in their lives.

MOBILIZING VISIBLE LEARNING FOR LITERACY

1

© Bob Daemmrich/PhotoEdit

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8 TEACHING LITERACY IN THE VISIBLE LEARNING CLASSROOM, GRADES 6–12

Students have choices about how they want to demonstrate mastery of this particular unit of study. Some students, like Rukan, will write poems, using poems they have read as mentor texts (see Figure 1.1). Others will write about events in their lives, while others will blog. The outlet is selected by the students. As Ms. Lopez notes,

We’re working toward achieving our reading and writing goals, but also learning about ourselves and how we can share our own experiences. Of course, students also need to learn to write informational texts and arguments with evidence, but this unit focused on crafting a personal narrative in a genre of choice.

Figure 1.1 Roots by Rukan

You were sculpted

You were planted

You were taken care of

You were healthy

You were patient, so were they

Patiently waiting for your arrival

Finally, you are here!

You are no longer a thought, a vision

You are tangible and fragile

You are exposed to everything

As the years go by your mental and physical appearance change

Morphing into who you are in that moment

What you know in that moment

You are no longer a young mind

You are filled with knowledge and yet still ignorant

You don’t know it all but you want to

So you make mistakes

Maybe you repent, maybe you let it go

It’s up to you now

To continue what you have been taught

Every tradition, every custom is yours now

No longer guarded by your loved ones

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9CHAPTER 1. MOBILIzING VISIBLE LEARNING FOR LITERACY

So you subconsciously guard yourself

Learning from your mistakes as you grow

Of course, you have the support of family and friends

Most importantly you have yourself

At a young age you begin to learn from what you see or experience

Your parents have taught you well

You know religion because of them

You know love because of them

You know hate because of them

Truly, cherish them

They aren’t long for their world

Yes, their world

What goes on behind closed doors and soft whispers

Suddenly you forget everything you’ve learned

They forget everything they’ve taught you

No more traditions

No more love

No more smiles and laughter

No more holidays together

Only what is now

And what is now?

It’s time for you to grow up!

Become responsible

Take what you have harvested in your mind and use it in reality

Becoming more than your original roots

Passing what is now your knowledge to everyone you meet

First impressions and final goodbyes

Every moment is precious

Every moment was meant to be

Every hardship, every tear, every headache

Every memory, every love, any joy

Was first with them

With your roots

Do not disconnect from this

This is everything

This is what you’ve been learning from

Still learning from

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VISIBLE LEARNING FOR LITERACYThis eleventh-grade teacher is mobilizing the principles of visible learn-ing in literacy in each component of the morning’s lessons. She holds high expectations for her students in terms of both the complexity of the content and their ability to deepen their knowledge through inves-tigation. She engages in comprehension instruction using close reading of a complex text, and deepening their knowledge through investigation by presenting a problem for them to address. Ms. Lopez regularly assesses her students for formative purposes such that she can create both teacher- directed and collaborative learning small groups in her classroom. These measures are generated by the students themselves, and are used to inform their goals. She is mobilizing principles of visible learning such that she is consciously aware of her impact and her students are con-sciously aware of their learning. In other words, she sees the relationship between visible teaching and visible learning (see Figure 1.2).

The literacy practices discussed in Visible Learning for Literacy (Fisher, Frey, & Hattie, 2016) highlight effective practices and, importantly, when those practices are best leveraged to maximize their impact on student learning. However, we would be remiss if we did not further contextualize their role in quality reading and language arts instruction for secondary-level learners. Understanding how components of such programs interface with the developmental progressions of young adults is vital for accelerating students’ literacy learning.

COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE LITERACY LEARNINGBut literacy requires more than reading—it is further expressed through speaking, listening, writing, and viewing. Together these compose the language arts, which are furthered by reading, discussion, and composi-tion of literary and informational texts. Effective literacy instruction fos-ters student growth through oral language development, composition, investigation, and performance. More specifically, it addresses three major areas (Connor et al., 2014):

• Linguistic processes, including language, word knowledge, and academic knowledge

• Cognitive processes, including comprehension monitoring, inferencing, and sense-making for self and others

• Text-specific processes about how narrative and informa-tional texts are understood and composed

EFFECT S IZE FOR EX PECTATIONS

= 0 .43

EFFECT S IZE FOR COMPREHENSION

PROGRAMS = 0 .60

EFFECT S IZE FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING

TEACHING = 0 .61

EFFECT S IZE FOR SMALL GROUP

LEARNING = 0 .49

EFFECT S IZE FOR SELF-REPORTED GRADES/STUDENT

EXPECTATIONS = 1.44

Teaching Takeaway

Effective teaching

requires knowing which

approaches work and

when they work .

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In middle and high school, these language arts processes are leveraged to gain knowledge in other subject areas (science, history, mathematics, and the visual and performing arts). Additionally, language arts processes are paired with the study of literature in the English classroom. While the utilization of language arts processes in other content areas is vital, this book focuses specifically on secondary English coursework and the teachers who design and implement lessons and assess their impact.

The College Board’s framework for language arts views secondary English as an integrative discipline, in which students learn about themselves and the lives of others, and become “knowledgeable, reflective, creative and critical members of a variety of literacy communities” (2006, p. 14). Of course, these things don’t just happen. Their English teachers design instruction that includes modeling, direct instruction, and dialogic learning to foster skills development and analytic thinking.

The indicators for effective English courses are not narrow and prescrip-tive, but rather can be accomplished using a number of different sched-uling structures. However they are organized, the emphasis should be on sustained periods of instruction, including time each day when students

• Read independently

• Talk about their learning with others

• Write about their reading

Available for download at https://resources.corwin.com/vl-literacy6-12

Copyright © 2017 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Teaching Literacy in the Visible

Learning Classroom, Grades 6–12 by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Hattie, and Marisol Thayre.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com. Reproduction authorized only for the local school

site or nonprofit organization that has purchased this book.

Figure 1.2 The Relationship Between Visible Teaching and Visible Learning

Highly effective teachers . . . Such that students . . .

Communicate clear learning intentions Understand the learning intentions

Have challenging success criteria Are challenged by the success criteria

Teach a range of learning strategies Develop a range of learning strategies

Know when students are not progressing Know when they are not progressing

Provide feedback Seek feedback

Visibly learn themselves Visibly teach themselves

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There is a focus on assessment for the purpose of informing instructional decisions and providing feedback to learners. In addition, skills and strategies at the word and text levels are taught, and all of this is accomplished through making connections between reading, writing, and spoken language. The following assumptions inform our collective understanding about teaching and learning:

• Assessment occurs throughout the academic year, and the results are used to inform the teacher and the learner. Each period, time is set aside to understand students’ literacy progress and provide feedback to learners.

• A meaningful amount of time is dedicated to devel-oping literacy processes. Every day students engage in sus-tained, organized, and comprehensive experiences with all of the components: reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

• There is a reading–writing–spoken language connec-tion. Development of reading and writing proficiency occurs when students have rich reading experiences, opportunities for purposeful writing, and occasions for meaningful interactions with peers and the teacher.

• Reading and writing occur every class period. These events occur with the teacher, with peers, and independently.

Ultimately, a successful approach to adolescent literacy is one where reading and writing occurs in all content areas, not just the English class-room. Because literacy learning enhances science, mathematics, social studies, and the visual and performing arts, it is essential to find areas of crossover between the disciplines whenever possible. Having said that, the English classroom is viewed as the primary space for instruction in reading and writing.

ADOLESCENT LITERACY: READINGAs any secondary teacher can attest, many students arrive into our care with significant needs in the area of reading. According to a report by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE),

Less than half of the 2005 ACT-tested high school graduates demonstrated readiness for college-level reading, and the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading scores for 12th graders showed a decrease from 80 percent at the proficient level in 1992 to 73 percent in 2005. (2007, p. 1)

In order to effectively combat these decreases in learning, a carefully con-structed approach is necessary to close these ever-widening gaps. In the

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elementary years, students are typically taught the basic elements of reading and writing; by the time they reach middle school, the reading demands of the curriculum require more than just the basics of comprehension—though many students have not even mastered that skill yet. Students must navigate different texts in order to gain content knowledge specific to their courses.

ADOLESCENT LITERACY: WRITINGWriting instruction presents its own unique challenges and opportunities in the secondary classroom despite its close relationship to reading. Because writing calls on students not just to read the words and ideas of others, but to create and construct their own texts in a meaningful way to achieve a specific purpose, different skills need to be taught and developed in addition to those that support reading development. In order to best address student needs, a writing program designed to help students skillfully express their thinking in a variety of circumstances is essential. It is not enough to simply be able to successfully use the conventions of written English; proficient writers must be flexible in their approaches to different writing situations, both in and out of the classroom, and for a wide span of tasks.

KNOWLEDGE OF HOW STUDENTS LEARNAs you can imagine, there is no shortage of ideas, theories, and anecdotes to answer the question about how students learn. The research fields of educational psychology and literacy are dedicated to understanding how learning occurs. Our thinking has been influenced by a number of significant principles, including a developmental view of literacy and the importance of meaningful experiences. These principles help us to answer the question of how students learn.

Developmental View of Learning

Perspectives on learning have moved far from the predominant theories of behaviorism and psychoanalysis of the early 20th century. The devel-opmental work of Vygotsky, Piaget, Montessori, and others has shaped our approach to learning and the educational systems that support it. Clay (2003) asks,

How do developmental theories influence teachers’ assumptions about children? These explanations, particularly in language and cognitive areas, have created for teachers vocabulary and knowl-edge structures that allow them to think beyond what the child does to what may be occurring in children’s heads. (p. 49)

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A developmental perspective in learning means that the teacher understands that a student’s response is not merely “correct” or “incorrect” but rather a reflection of what is understood at that moment. Therefore, the teach-er’s role is not simply to evaluate what is correct or incorrect, but instead to recognize that students’ response provide opportunities to hypothesize how they are using their knowledge to arrive at an answer. This requires the classroom teacher to understand how young people learn as they grow, espe-cially how they develop literacy knowledge. But adopting a developmental view of learning does not mean that we lock adolescents into rigid stages of development. Their cognitive development is either enhanced or inhibited by the context we create for them. A learning environment should support their explorations, errors, and successes, and provide interactions with more capable peers. They need access to challenging but not defeating topics of study, set within a culturally responsive milieu (American Psychological Association, 2015).

Meaningful Experiences and Social Interaction

A basic premise of learning is that when experiences are meaningful to the learner, the ability to learn increases. For example, your ability to learn the concepts discussed in this book is directly related to the relevancy of learning about literacy teaching in your life. If you were studying to be an engineer, your ability to learn these principles would be somewhat diminished, because the content is not as useful in an engi-neering degree program. In the same regard, student learning is driven by the questions formulated with and by the learner (Moffett, 1992). Fur-thermore, learning is social in nature and springs from the interactions we have with others (Halliday, 1975). Therefore, an important role of the teacher is to foster questions and dialogue among students and create meaningful experiences that allow them to interact with one another.

Surface, Deep, and Transfer of Learning

The progression of literacy learning through the secondary years follows a spiral as students move from understanding the surface contours of a skill or concept toward an ever-deepening exploration of what lies beneath. But understanding these progressions requires that teachers consider the levels of learning they can expect from students. How, then, should we define learning, since that is our goal? As John suggested in his 2014 Vernon Wall Lecture (see also Hattie & Donoghue, 2016), learning can be defined as

the process of developing sufficient surface knowledge to then move to deeper understanding such that one can appropriately transfer this learning to new tasks and situations.

The teacher’s role is not

simply to evaluate what

is correct or incorrect ,

but instead to recognize

that students’ responses

provide opportunities

to hypothesize how they

are using their knowledge

to arrive at an answer.

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Learning is a process, not an event. The movement from surface learning––the facts, concepts, and principles associated with a topic of study––to deep learning, which is the ability to leverage knowledge across domains in increasingly novel situations, requires careful planning. If students are to deepen their knowledge, they must regularly encounter situations that foster the transfer and generalization of their learning. The American Psychologi-cal Association (2015) notes that “student transfer or generalization of their knowledge and skills is not spontaneous or automatic” (p. 10) and requires intentionally created events on the part of the teacher.

And there is a scale for learning. Some things students understand only at the surface level. While surface learning is often not valued (miscon-strued as superficial learning), it should be. You have to know some-thing to be able to do something with it. We’ve never met a student who could synthesize information from multiple sources who didn’t have an understanding of each of the texts. With appropriate instruction about how to relate and extend ideas, surface learning becomes deep under-standing. Deep understanding is important if students are going to set their own expectations and monitor their own achievement. But school-ing should not stop there. Learning demands that students be able to apply—transfer—their knowledge, skills, and strategies to new tasks and new situations. Transfer is very difficult to attain, and it remains one of our closely kept professional secrets. When was the last time you and your colleagues talked about transfer? Therefore, we often pronounce that students can transfer, but the process of teaching them at this level with the expectation of transfer is too often not discussed.

John uses the SOLO (structure of observed learning outcomes) method developed by Biggs and Collis (1982) to explain the movement from surface to deep learning as a process of first branching out and then strengthening connections between ideas:

• One idea

• Many ideas

• Related ideas

• Extended ideas

We’ll offer an example from seventh grade to illustrate. Students are intro-duced to the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos. They might study these strategies separately (one idea) as they appear in various media. As their understanding of each individual appeal grows, students begin to see how each operates differently and for different ends. In order to apply this burgeoning knowledge, young adults need plenty of opportunities to

Teaching Takeaway

The goal of schooling

is for students to apply

what they have been

taught—to transfer

their learning to new

situations, tasks,

and problems.

Transfer is more than

memorization; it also

involves recognition on

the part of the learner

about what has occurred.

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examine how ethos, pathos, and logos work individually; the student will eventually be able to relate the different instances in which she sees pathos used, for example, and examine how this use of the same concept differs depending on context and situation. In time, her ideas of how each appeal works is extended when the student begins to use ethos, pathos, and logos in her own speaking and writing. Transfer is occurring throughout, as she moves from one idea deeper to an extension of ideas. But the transfer of knowledge is not seamless and linear. You see it in adolescents’ lack of reasoning in their claims, or in the overuse of one of the appeals at the expense of another.

The ultimate goal, and one that is hard to realize, is transfer. When stu-dents reach this level, learning has been accomplished. Transfer occurs throughout surface and deep learning. In fact, all learning is really trans-fer, provided understanding is involved (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). By this, we mean that transfer is more than memorization; it also involves recognition on the part of the learner about what has occurred. The seventh grader who knows she is using the methods of persuasion is bearing witness to her own transfer of learning. At each phase of learn-ing, specific instructional and curricular methods rise to the top. In other words, it isn’t just knowing what works, but rather, what works best. Figure 1.3 captures some literacy learning approaches that are especially effective at the surface, deep, and transfer phases of learning.

WHAT STUDENTS NEEDAdolescents are exposed to a barrage of texts—written and otherwise—almost constantly. As the CCNY’s report on reading notes, “Literacy demands have increased and changed as the technological capabilities of our society have expanded and been made widely available; con-comitantly, the need for flexible, self-regulated individuals who can respond to rapidly changing contexts has also increased” (2004, p. 9). The demands of our society on students are such that they need to be able to understand and respond to a variety of media in an endless array of situations. This requires a person who can recognize how messages work in a variety of forms and contexts. As consumers, creators, and analyzers of print and digital media, adolescents need powerful and pur-poseful instruction that conveys a sense of urgency about learning. In the framework of a visible learning classroom, we know the following components are crucial in aiding the development of critical readers, writers, and thinkers:

• Direct, clear expectations such that students know what they are learning, why they are learning it, and how they will know that they learned it. We need them as active participants in the learning process, but when we fail to communicate

Video 1The Right Strategy at the

Right Time: Surface, Deep,

and Transfer Learning

https://resources.corwin.com/

vl-literacy6-12

To read a QR code, you must have a

smartphone or tablet with a camera.

We recommend that you download

a QR code reader app that is made

specifically for your phone or tablet

brand.

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Copyright © 2017 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Teaching Literacy in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6–12 by Douglas

Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Hattie, and Marisol Thayre. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com. Reproduction authorized only for the local

school site or nonprofit organization that has purchased this book.

Figure 1.3 High-Impact Literacy Approaches at Each Phase of Learning

Surface Learning Deep Learning Transfer Learning

Strategy ES Strategy ES Strategy ES

Wide reading

(exposure to reading)

0.42 Questioning 0.48 Extended writing/

writing programs

0.44

Phonics instruction 0.54 Concept mapping 0.60 Peer tutoring 0.55

Direct instruction 0.59 Close reading (study skills) 0.63 Problem-solving teaching 0.61

Note-taking 0.59 Self-questioning 0.64 Synthesizing information

across texts

0.63

Comprehension programs 0.60 Metacognitive strategy

instruction

0.69 Formal discussions

(e.g., debates)/classroom

discussion

0.82

Annotation (study skills) 0.63 Reciprocal teaching 0.74 Transforming conceptual

knowledge

0.85

Summarizing 0.63 Class discussion 0.82 Organizing conceptual

knowledge

0.85

Leveraging prior knowledge/

prior achievement

0.65 Organizing and

transforming notes

0.85 Identifying similarities

and differences

1.32

Vocabulary instruction 0.67 Cooperative learning 0.59

Repeated reading 0.67

Spaced practice 0.71

Expectations of teacher 0.43

Teacher clarity 0.75

Feedback 0.75

Student expectations of self 1.44

learning intentions and success criteria to students, we force them to become passive consumers of whatever we’re doling out. Students should know and be able to articulate the purpose and goals of their learning, as well as their progress toward these goals. This concept is so elemental to everything else we do, that we have devoted the entire next chapter to communicating expectations—a concept also known as teacher clarity.

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• Complex texts with opportunities for collaboration. In order to comprehend complex texts, students need plenty of opportunities to work with them alone and with peers in order to further their understanding. Collaboration on the creation of complex texts is equally valuable, as every writer composes orally before laying words down on the page.

• Consistent, timely, and effective feedback on progression toward learning goals, so students can adjust their thinking, get more help, or continue on their path. This is especially import-ant in writing; in a process writing approach, students will use this feedback to revise, refine, and republish their writing.

• Ongoing formative assessments that are aligned with clearly articulated learning intentions or goals are crucial in identifying opportunities for reteaching or advancement, and to understand the impact on one’s teaching on learning. Impact data should rightly be seen as feedback to the teacher from the students.

It’s a tall order, to be sure. An ongoing challenge is in making the most of the instructional minutes we have, in order to maximize learning. Most secondary teachers lament that there is never enough time, so it is critical that instructional time within a class period and across the week is aligned with these above-mentioned principles.

Scheduling Instructional Time

The purpose of this book is to address some of the daily concerns of teach-ing, and logistics is a big one. Organization of an English classroom should allow for students to participate in a model of instruction that allows them to acquire, consolidate, and deepen their literacy skills and strategies on a daily basis. In addition, students read and write every day, collaborate with peers, and work independently. The teacher meets with students as a whole group, in small groups, and individually. While not every student meets with the teacher every day, these meetings occur weekly.

Time Organization

A portion of the instructional minutes is devoted to focused instruction, which consists of time devoted to sharing the learning intentions and success criteria with students. This isn’t simply posting the intentions on the board and giving them cursory attention. Instead, students and the teacher engage in dialogue to parse and clarify. The teacher also uses this time to model and think aloud, and to provide any necessary direct instruction that is needed. Before transitioning to the next phase, the teacher returns to the learning intentions and success criteria, and students name or write the goals they have for themselves for the day.

EFFECT S IZE FOR TEACHER

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Next, the teacher might meet with small groups of students for needs-based instruction in reading or writing. Students in these groups have been selected based on formative use of assessment information, and are often (but not always) clustered due to similar needs. While the teacher meets for guided instruction, the rest of the class is engaged in collabo-rative learning.

Collaborative learning may occur in pairs or in slightly larger groups, but all students are working with at least one other person. Depending on the purposes, students may be consolidating previously learned, but still new, knowledge. Conversely, they may be working with peers to deepen their knowledge of a skill or concept. For example, students may be providing peer critiques of each other’s writing, or might be engaged in a collaborative conversation about a text they are reading. Later in the period, students are independently reading and writing. This is an opportunity for them to apply what they have been learning, thus fur-ther fostering transfer. While students read independently, the teacher meets with individual students to confer, assess, and provide feedback, working with students toward self-reported goals.

Of course, not all instruction necessary for effective practice can be offered in one period. This requires a perspective across the week to see how instruction unfolds. There is flexibility, of course, in how this is implemented on a daily basis. Some days use less time for conferring, as additional time may be devoted to developing writing skills, engaging in extended discussion, or for research and investigation.

Across a Week

This suggested schedule is not meant to be a rigid structure that follows the same pattern day after day. On some days the teacher is collecting assessment information, while at other times he or she meets with indi-vidual students to confer about reading and writing. In addition, while small group, needs-based instruction occurs nearly every day, it is not always with the same students. It is critical to plan time for reteaching concepts students may not have mastered the first time. In our experi-ence, well-intentioned teachers do not ever get to reteaching because they do not set aside time to do so. We suggest that time for reteaching be planned each week. If you don’t need to reteach anyone during a particular week, you can move on with your curriculum.

We believe that the best teaching is responsive teaching that has an impact on student learning. Good teachers watch their students closely to see how the lesson is going and what students are learning. When teachable moments occur, when a student asks a profound question, when a puz-zled look on a student’s face suggests she is confused, it’s appropriate to

EFFECT S IZE FOR SMALL GROUP

LEARNING = 0 .49

EFFECT S IZE FOR PEER TUTORING

= 0 .55

Video 2Assessment and

Needs-Based Instruction


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follow the lead. This undoubtedly messes up the carefully crafted lesson. So be it. After all, who’s the schedule for? If something has to give on a particular day in order to accommodate these important events, be flexi-ble about it. Don’t let the occasional deviations from the lesson discour-age you. But it is equally important to remember that expected lapses in schedules do not mean there should be no schedule at all. Learners thrive on knowing what to expect, and teachers find they accomplish far more when a thoughtful schedule is planned and implemented.

SPOTLIGHT ON THREE TEACHERSTo help you further visualize how secondary teachers use the practices highlighted in Visible Learning for Literacy, we will follow the practices of three teachers throughout the remaining chapters:

• Simone Okeke is a seventh-grade teacher in Texas. The 34 stu-dents in her English classroom represent the rich diversity found in her community, and include many English learners who speak Spanish, Tagalog, or Chinese as a first language. A large portion of her students also speak African-American vernacular English. Ms. Okeke is a teacher-leader in her school, has hosted numer-ous student teachers over the years, and serves as a teacher-coach for the English department. An important issue for her is build-ing cross-cultural curriculum that supports all of her students and gives them access to rigorous learning opportunities.

“The immigrant population here in Texas is diverse and vibrant,” she noted, “and we as educators have a duty to create learning occasions where our students see themselves reflected in the curriculum. I believe this builds the confidence and self-efficacy needed to take on the challenging situations they will encounter here at school in the world.”

• Sandra Lopez is an eleventh-grade teacher in California. She has 35 students in her classroom, and most qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; this qualification is a common measure of socioeconomic status. While some of her students speak English as a first language, a large portion speak Spanish in the home. Ms. Lopez is a national board certified teacher (NBCT) in adoles-cent and young adulthood language arts.

When asked about what she sees as being a motivating source in her teaching, she said, “I strive to give my students an educa-tion in which their individual needs are addressed, especially in the area of language development.” She continued, “But I also want them to develop skills that will serve them outside of the

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classroom. Since my students will leave the high school environ-ment soon, I want to teach them concepts that transfer from the classroom to the workplace or college environment.”

• Charles Peck is a Year 10 teacher in an urban community school in London. Many of his 28 students identify as Indian or Arabic, and they speak Hindi, Arabic, or another non-English language at home. His students are taught using the Key Stage 4 national cur-riculum, and they are working toward national qualifications, most toward the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).

“This community had historically high leaving [dropout] rates, but since compulsory education is now required to age 18, we’re seeing students changing their goals,” he said. With a large stu-dent population with diverse needs, “my main concerns are help-ing my students achieve high levels of success,” says Mr. Peck, who is a department chair and mentor teacher. He states, “I see my role as being one who addresses the gaps my students arrive with in order to help remove barriers and empower them to become agents in their own education. My work in the class-room, as well as my mentorship role with developing teachers, is my most powerful tool in doing this.”

These three teachers, although in different regions and contexts, operate under three important assumptions:

• Meaningful change occurs when teachers, families, and commu-nities collaborate to strengthen learning.

• Language and cultural diversity is a strength to be leveraged, not a deficit to be corrected.

• Expert teaching requires monitoring student progress, providing feedback, and adjusting lessons based on the learning of students.

In the chapters that follow, you will encounter these three teachers and view the lesson plans they have developed for themselves. In order to estab-lish a predictable pattern for displaying this information, we have adopted a lesson template (see Figure 1.4). Lessons based on the template are not meant to be delivered in a strictly linear fashion, but rather the template is intended to serve as a way to guide your thinking about the elements of the lesson. In addition, you will more briefly meet a number of teachers from other grade levels whose practices illustrate the approaches under discussion. While no book on lesson planning could ever entirely capture every context or circumstance you encounter, we hope that the net effect is that we provide a process for representing methods for incorporating visible learning for literacy consistently in your English classroom.

Video 3Lesson Planning


vl-literacy6-12

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Figure 1.4 Lesson Plan Template

Assessed Need: I have noticed that my students need:

Standard(s) Addressed:

Text(s) I Will Use:

Learning Intention for This Lesson:

Success Criteria for This Lesson:

Direct Instruction:

Model: Strategies/skills/concepts to emphasize

Guide and Scaffold: Questions to ask

Assess: These are the students who will need further support

Dialogic Instruction:

Teacher-Directed Tools (e.g., anticipation guides, four corners activity, K-W-L, to spark discussion)

Student-Enacted Tools (e.g., literature circles, reciprocal teaching, debate, Socratic seminar, that are primarily

driven by students)

Assess: These are the students who will need further support

Feedback Opportunities:

Independent Learning and Closure:


Copyright © 2017 by Corwin. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Teaching Literacy in the Visible Learning Classroom, Grades 6–12 by Douglas

Fisher, Nancy Frey, John Hattie, and Marisol Thayre. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, www.corwin.com. Reproduction authorized only for the local

school site or nonprofit organization that has purchased this book.


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CONCLUSIONLiteracy instruction that capitalizes on visible learning is established upon principles of learning. A developmental approach to reading and writing is utilized to foster increasingly deeper and more sophisticated expressions of literacy. This focus on the individual learner makes this approach ideal for students with language or learning needs. In addition, a visible learning for literacy approach leverages high-impact instruction to accelerate student learning through surface, deep, and transfer phases of learning by engaging them in direct, dialogic, and independent learn-ing tasks. Finally, students learn best when there is a solid organizational structure that allows them to learn in a variety of ways, and with a vari-ety of materials. In other words, learning becomes visible for students. As we will highlight in each chapter that follows, visible learners are students who

• Can be their own teacher

• Can articulate what they are learning and why

• Can talk about how they are learning—the strategies they are using to learn

• Can articulate their next learning steps

• Can use self-regulation strategies

• Are assessment capable—they understand the assessment tools being used and what their results mean, and they can self-assess to answer the key questions: Where am I in my learning? Where am I going? and What do I need to do to get there?

• Seek, are resilient to, and aspire to challenge

• Can set mastery goals

• See errors as opportunities and are comfortable saying that they don’t know and/or need help

• Positively support the learning of their peers

• Know what to do when they don’t know what to do

• Actively seek feedback

• Have metacognitive skills and can talk about these (systematic planning, memory, abstract thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, etc.)

Video 4Visible Learners: “What

were you learning today?”


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In other words, a visible learner notices when he or she is learning and is proactive in making sure that learning is obvious. As we engage in discussions about literacy learning in this book, we will return to these indicators that students are visible learners to explore how they might look in the classroom.

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